A wide variety of communications services are available to a user of a modern public switched telephone network (PSTN). These services include voice mail, conference calling, call forwarding, and calling name delivery (CNAM). CNAM is considered a valuable service by many users because it allows a called party to view information about a calling party on a display unit. Specifically, when the called party receives a call, information including the calling party's name and directory number, as well as the date and time of the call may be transmitted to the display unit. Unfortunately, this information is generally the only information that can be transmitted regarding the calling party. The calling name delivery service would be considered even more valuable by some users if a called party was provided with additional information about a calling party.
Today, the delivery of calling name information is typically implemented in accordance with the model illustrated in FIG. 1, which is a prior art diagram of the CNAM operating environment. Referring to FIG. 1, a calling party, Veda, picks up the telephone and dials the directory number of a called party, who is also a CNAM subscriber, Dale. In this example, Veda dials 770-555-6789. Next, a switch 1 (Office B) serving Veda obtains routing information and populates an initial address message (IAM) with certain information. The IAM is a parameter that exists within an integrated services digital network user part (ISUP) signaling message. An ISUP signaling message employs a Common Circuit Signaling System 7 (CCS7) call setup protocol. In particular, the IAM is populated with Veda's directory number (770-555-1234), Dale's directory number (770-555-6789), and a presentation parameter. The presentation parameter allows a CNAM display.
Office B then sends this information in the signaling message to an end office 2 (Office A) serving Dale. Office A recognizes that the call is for a CNAM subscriber, so Office A halts the calling process to launch a calling name query on the CCS7 network. As a part of the query launch, Office A populates a called party address parameter in the query with Veda's directory number, 770-555-1234. The called party address parameter is a routing parameter within an Advanced Intelligence Network (AIN) query package.
After Office A has populated the called party address parameter, the calling name query is sent to a signaling transfer point (STP) 3. The STP 3 performs a global title translation (GTT) on the called party address parameter to determine to which a serviced control point (SCP) the calling name query should be routed. This determination is made based on the first three digits in Veda's directory number, in this case, 770. The STP 3 then forwards the calling name query to the appropriate SCP 4. The SCP 4 searches a CNAM database 5 for Veda's record from which the SCP 4 retrieves the associated name. The CNAM database 5 is located preferably as a part of the SCP 4, as shown in FIG. 1, but may be separate from the SCP 4, or incorporated as part of another network element such as a service node or even a switch.
The SCP 4 returns the name associated with Veda's directory number in a transaction capability application part (TCAP) response to Office A. The TCAP response is the final message containing instructions on how to handle the call. The TCAP response message ends the SSP/SCP transaction that began with the calling name query. In this example, Veda Christmas (full name) is returned in the TCAP response to Office A.
When Office A completes the call to Dale, Office A sends the calling party's name, Veda Christmas, and Veda's directory number, 770-555-1234, as well as the date and time of the call over Dale's line to Dale's display unit 6. This information is then displayed on Dale's display unit 6.
In sum, CNAM is designed to send a calling party's name and directory number to a called party. One of the main purposes of CNAM is to allow a called party to scan an incoming calls log on a display unit. The log lists the calling party's name, directory number, date and time of an incoming call. The called party is able to view this information without having to answer the call. In addition, the called party is able to determine who has called without having to check an answering machine or voice mail system.
As unique and useful as the CNAM service is in providing calling party information, the principle disadvantage of the present CNAM service is that the called party cannot retrieve any additional information about the call. Specifically, the present system does not provide a mechanism for sending messages with the call. Therefore, there is a need for an improved system and method that allow for a message to be delivered with a call.